New (and Final!!) Semester~

Hey all... so sorry for the long PAUSE. :P I've been busy with orchestra practices and playing games. Hohoho :P It's called Plantasia, from Yahoo Games. Check it out. If you like that sorta thing, check out Diner Dash 1 & 2 as well ;)

ANYWAYS....

Tomorrow is the first day of my final semester as an undergraduate~~ HEhee.. I think it deserves some mention.. after all, it's most likely to happen only once in my life. Unless of course, I get the urge to do another undegrad degree :o LOL

The subjects I will be tackling this semester are:

1) Introduction to Psychological Disorders
2) Organizational/Industrial Psychology
3) Personality and Social Psychology

PLUS, I'm till contemplating over these three for my final pick:

a) Human Psychophysiology
OR
b) Environmental Psychology
OR
c) Psychoanalysis and Social Theory

Why the dilemma? Human Psychoblabla is like an advanced course after the intermmediate Behavioural Neuroscience I took last semester. I have this mentality that personality subjects are easier than "brain" subjects. Because of this, I tend to study harder for the brain subjects and end up getting higher marks for those -.-" The irony of it. (Please see previous post for marks). BUT I was told that Human Pychoblabla is bloody difficult and not to mention the fact that we're stuck with this sucky lecturer, John Trinder, who taught us the section on Sleep last semester in which we literally sleep. *Takes a deep breath*

*ponders*

On the other hand Environmental Psychology actually sounds interesting. The only problem is, there are excursions and lots of projects which frankly, I'm very afraid of. Not because I think they would be hard, but all the outdoor stuff would take up a lot of time and I'm not sure I'll have enough of it to spare. :/ On another bad side, I'm not sure how I can apply this subject anywhere. I just don't see the practicality of it.

I'm checking out Psychoanalysis and Social Theory as a favour to Tsu Ann coz she seems interested in it. I'll probably attend the lecture and see how it goes. The only theorist I recognize in the description of this subject is Freud. Who in the whole wide watermelon world are the others? I have no idea. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very "abstract" and "theorized" subject and would require a very good lecturer or otherwise be a draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. You know the type?

Oh well.. first week is always for experimenting.. :) After that it's hell if you don't hurry up and settle down. Hopefully I'll keep to the schedule this time. Heh.. The trend is that my second semesters are always better than my first semesters. ;) Maybe coz I know there's a long holiday after that.. LOL..

Alright.. That'll be it for tonight.. I'll have some pictures of the new sem in the next week or so. No guarantees coz I have orchestra practice everynight now. Don't you just love the smell of new books and papers? :D Cheers~

Unsatisfactory Progress Committee (UPC)

This is one group of people you never wanna see in your entire life as a uni student coz it can only mean two things.

1) You really screwed up (in terms of results)
2) You're screwed


The UPC is a bunch of old men trying to decide whether they should terminate your place at Melbourne University. Students who have failed two subjects in a semester or a same subject twice have to face a UPC hearing. What is my part in this? Well.. I volunteered as a peer support at the Student Union Advisory Service at uni and part of my job is to talk to the students before they go in for the hearing and if they want, I'll also go in with them to face the UPC as a support.

Prior to this experience, I had this stigmatisation for students who did not do well, that they just couldn't be bothered. This was partly because I wasn't a good student during Forms 4 and 5, I did not even try until the very when SPM (High School Cert/Public Exam) was just around the corner. I had bad results and I really deserved which lead me to think that whoever has such results deserve what they get. But then, I realized some people actually have real reasons behind their poor results. It's not as if they asked for it.. sometimes they have too much going on in their lives to handle.

Today's UPC hearing was for Engineering students. It's the first time peer support is extended to the Engineering faculty. Before this, it was only available for Commerce students. Apparently, the Commerce UPC are harsher and the termination rate is very high. According to them, there have been too many students failing Commerce.. I don't know if that's true though. My shift was from 1pm to 4.30pm this afternoon. There were suppose to be 20 hearings that afternoon, however only 5 people showed up for their hearing. I was lucky to be able to talk to one of the students and even luckier to have accompanied her into the UPC hearing.

Cheryl (not her real name) is a local student (Australian) who's doing Geomatics Engineering. She used to do a double degree Engineering/IS (Information Systems) and that was not her first time in a UPC hearing. I could tell she was really nervous and she seemed genuinely troubled. Completely jumbled up with a whole lot of problems she's been to see someone at the Counselling Service centre.. I felt really bad for her because she obviously wanted to keep on studying. In my opinion, problems take time to overcome and it would be unfair if she were terminated on the basis of her results. After all, it's not as if she isn't paying to study there, she just needs to sort out her problems. She made a good point during the hearing that her studies would serve as something to focus on to help her get back on track while the counsellor continues to work with her problems. During the entire process I began to feel her anxiety. I can't imagine myself in her place, having to face four mean-looking men (who I suppose are just doing their job) when she really really just wants a chance to make things work.

I learnt that some outcomes are just not what they seem and I shouldn't write people off that easily just based on their results. If I did, then wouldn't I be just like the UPC? All ready to prosecute some poor students who's going through a lot in her life right now.. I think it's an important lesson for everyone to not judge a person before you get to know them and just learn to listen to one another a bit more.. :)

On another matter, which I realized I forgot to do.. Announcing...... my results~~

Writing Literary Non-Fiction
60 (P)

Personal and Social Development
70 (H2B)

Research Methods (Stats)
72 (H2B)

Behavioural Neuroscience
76 (H2A)


How do I feel about that? Well.. the results are ok but I could've done better. That English paper is a real thorn on my side.. -.-" Maybe serious articles/topics are just not my thing.. oh well.. the second semester and my FINAL semester as an Arts (Psychology) student at Melbourne University is about to commence.. :) Wish me luck!

Karma

Lately I've been attending orchestra practices for our musical production, "Karma". Up there is a page of my music :D The very first page. As of this moment, I'm not sure how everything will turn out. The orchestra has 15 songs to play and we have only rehearsed 3 so far. Why's that a problem? Well, opening night is 4th August. Three weeks away! O.M.G. Why aren't we practicing more often? Answer : Our composer is behind schedule.. and there are some internal conflicts between the authorities. So while us small puppies and kittens wait patiently for the music, they're trying to sort out their problems. I only hope that they get over themselves quickly for this production to work. To be honest, I love the music, that's the only reason why I'm there. All the other mambo jambo is too much for me. I hate stupid disputes and evil power-obssessive people. -.-"

Haha.. ok.. enough about that. Seems like most of my posts have been about music lately. I think everyone is beginning to see how music makes up a huge part of my life :D I'm very very grateful that my parents sent me to my first organ lesson when I was 7. Since then, it was marching band and organ lessons all through primary and secondary school. And now I'm on a different adventure.. trying to build my clarinet technical skills with an instructor and also joining an orchestra for the first time. It's an entirely new experience. No marching, no baking under the sun, no blisters on my feet, no sweat.. What has taken over from all those? Here's a few to begin with.. it's a pleasure trying to get the pitch to the exact tone.. the preciseness of everything.. the cool, soothing melodies.. and there's still more I have yet to learn!

During band days.. the marching, drills and formations took a huge portion of time leaving scarcely enough for music. Our music abilities were restricted, not only because of time constraints but because we did not have a coach, nor did we have the correct techniques. Only now I am learning that the subtlety of slurring, tongueing and all that can make a huge difference to the music we play. Band days were gung-ho, filled with shouts and slogans. Now.. there is placid atmosphere.. peace.. I wish so much to mix these together.. :) That is quite impossible.. but I'm glad to be able to experience both these unique musical endeavours..

Sweat and Tears!

Here's a clip from my friend Jason who plays trumpet with SJS(St.Joseph) Kuching. It is SJS's experience last year at Nationals which was held in Penang when they were given 4th place. I hope it gives an insight to my readers what band life can be like.. I think it's a very valuable lesson to all bands and to all people as well.. it's ok to cry, have disappointment and sadness when we don't get what we have worked so hard for.. but we will all stand up again and move forwards!! :D Don't give up! :D

SMK St. Joseph Kuching Marching Band 2006 (Part 2)

In my personal opinion, I think they are technically (music and step/spacing) better.. that's why they keep winning.. :) Maybe song selections don't please the crowd as much, but judging factors include only music, formation and creativity. I hope they do Sarawak proud at Nationals this year as they always have. Go guys! :D

SMK St. Joseph Kuching Marching Band 2006 (Part 1)

Hey! Here's another school! These guys have been state representatives for 6 years.. and are representing Sarawak again this year. They are 4th in Nationals for two years now.. let's wish them the best! :D I know some of the guys here and they are nice people :)

SMK Chung Hua Miri Marching Band 2006 (Part 2)

Here's the second part guys! Feel free to comment~ Hehe.. or we can have a hearty discussion through MSN : cjk_hscy@yahoo.com. My personal opinion about us? :D We have always known to be very crowd-pleasing, that is one of our best attributes. We self-cater, no coaches no instructors whatsoever, everything is student-produced so we have a lot to be proud of :) Keep up the good work guys!!!

Enjoy!

SMK Chung Hua Miri Marching Band 2006 (Part 1)

Hey all.. just to give everyone a taste of band life, here's the first part of this year's performance. A mere 4 minutes (this clip) takes weeks to work out.. and months to perfect. :) We're still improving, and we're still goin.. heh.. I hope everyone enjoys watching this as much as I did. There's still more to come!

When we are human..

What is it to be human..

We talk about humanity like it's something simple and pure. Goodwill of heart, compassion and understanding.

What about the human who is flawed? What is he then? Tell me, what is she.

So what is humanity now?

Is it chasing after something more irrespective of negative consequences? Why is lifemuch more simple back then? How did our ancestors live?

We have books, technology, buildings, transportation, immaculate "systems". Are we more advanced? Is it true to say that the people before were uncivilized, backward and unintelligent?

Are we really moving forwards?

Every step we take towards making our lives easier to live, running after desires that our grandparents would never have dreamed of.. we are losing ground on the simple values of life. To treat each other with respect and to love ourselves.

Snow, Snow, Hey-Ho!

Yesterday Annie, Betty, Dunstan and I set off for Mt. Buller. It was my second time there. The first time I went, it was a treat for my 19th Birthday. Added to that, it was also Kian Yaow's 21st Birthday, which made it a very memorable event. :D Imagine spending your birthday having someone mow over you in skis :P LOL. That's exactly what happened to me. So this time round, I did not, ahem, SKI. I left that fun part to the three youngsters.

Dunstan (who joined us from Adelaide), Betty and Annie

Their ski instructor turns out to be a Russian. Actually, there were a lot of Russion instructors out there. At one point she (yes, it's a woman!) called out to another instructor to move out of the way. But the other guy was soooooooooooooooooo blur, she finally shouted at him in Russian. Then he got the point. Which just goes to show you how important our bahasa bangsa is, err, no matter how useless it is now :P Haha! Seriously. The only time I feel like Malay is of any use is, when we gossip about people from other countries. Wakakkakaka! Although it's not much use when it comes to Indonesians coz they understand.

So what did I do if I didn't ski? Well, that's how they got all these photos. I was the photographer. I know I know.. How boring right? WRONG! I'm telling you, skiing is no easy task. The boots are strapped so tight to your feet you can hardly move at all. Not to mention the fact that you have to climb this hill to get to the snow. Yea. Those first 15 minutes really hurt. The three of them can't feel their legs when they woke up this morning, kinda like how I felt that one time I went skiing.

The only problem with my taking pictures yesterday was, I suddenly become everyone's photographer. The people who were on the tour with us dumped their cameras on me during the lesson. LOL. I should've charged them 50 cents a piece. :P But anyway, they were really nice people and I was there conveniently, so why not? :)

After the lesson was done (around 1pm) we attempted to make a snowman. The night before, I had this dream where I made a snowman as tall as myself. We modified that "dream" of mine and tried to make one as tall as Dunstan. Know how it went?

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Now that's what I call some serious cold shit. :P Haha! Pardon the constipated face, but I really wanted to make as if it were real. Of course, I wasn't the only one who took the shit picture. We even have a name for the activity : Snow-Shit Skiing. LOL. We abandoned the snowman idea.

And had the real people in snow background as a trade :D Of course, not trip is complete without the sister photo, with mountains and mist in the background.

A little confession to make, I was scared shitless standing on that pavement which falls off to only about 2 or 3 feet behind us. :P It felt like a longggggggggggggggg way down.

So that's it, our snow trip brought to you from wayyyyyyy up there. Try it sometime. :D

In the name of love!

Now now.. it's not what you think.

Yes, I'm a crazy romantic girl. YES, I'm always in love. Hmm.. well, I can't remember a time when I'm not in love maybe except now. It gets tiring you know?

ANYHOW, this love I'm talking about now has got absolutely nothing to do with the opposite sex (or the same sex for the matter, just to make things clear.) LOL. NoPe. It's that time of the year again. For what???

Well, for all band freaks out there, you know what I mean. For all the normal people I know, :D IT'S BAND COMPETITION time!

Ok, so you're thinking, Is she nuts or what? I guess the scary thing is (to most people at least :P), I'm totally serious about this. I'm passionately, wonderfully into this thing called Band Life. I know it's all different in every state, and in especially every country. So wherever you're from, I encourage you to check it out. If you're from Malaysia, I recommend www.voteband.net/forum to meet all crazy people like myself :D This is not the first time I've ranted on and on about how great band life is. Please see previous entries in my old blog - http://patienthelen.spaces.msn.com

For all you Sarawakkians, the Sarawak State Competition is coming up on this Thursday (6th July) in Kuching at Stadium Perpaduan. Be there by 8am to be sure to catch the march in and inspection :D Catch a glimpse of my old band, the forever competitive and innovative SMK Chung Hua Miri Marching Band! I used to play the clarinet and then the alto saxophone for the band. And now as most of you know, I'm taking clarinet lessons to improve on my technical skills. Good fun! But just between you and me and the rest of the world, music is such an expensive hobby! Honestly, I wouldn't recommend that anyone waste their money if they're not being serious about it. To me, in terms of music, nothing is worse than having music played badly because the feelings and the heart is not there! It isn't so much the lack of talent, it's more of the lack of practice that irritates me. :P You really have to have the dedication. And just by that, you're the best no matter how talented other people are.

HAha.. I'd like to say that we are the best in terms of self-catering to our own musical needs. We don't have a coach, we're lack in instruments, musical technicality and everything is student-produced including formations. BUT, the fact that we manage to give St. Joseph Kuching a run for their money everytime makes me really proud :D SJS Kuching are the State Representatives for about 5 to 6 years now.. and we probably are one of the reasons that they push themselves harder everytime. See? Who says competition isn't good? :D Anyways, not the time for animosity. I love SJS Kuching's style. You guys should check out their uniforms. Totally traditional yet smart. Heh.. them being an all-guys school helps too :P

Anyway, I'm sure most of you have some activities which you are just equally in love with! It's all the same really. I can totally see why someone might enjoy bungee jumping or the wild crazy sport of abseilling, both of which I have absolutely no guts to attempt at all!!

On a side note, my apologies for the lack of blogs. I've been busy because Chun How (long-time friend, primary, secondary and college mate, you get the idea) is visiting from Malaysia and will be here till 11th July. Besides that, there'll be lots of CMG production rehearsels soon not to mention the fact that I just got back from Mt. Buller (more about that tomorrow with pictures!). All that, and I still need to resume my clarinet lessons ASAP and continue jamming out at the gym before I resemble a puff fish. Oh wait. I already do. Haha.. you get the picture.

Also, Happy Birthday to Chuan Yong (another long-time buddy) and Boon Kien/Jamm :D!!!

Remember, check out the marching band scene!!!!! You won't regret it! :D
"One Band, One Sound, One Heart, One Soul~" GO CHMB!